


Always

by ChocolateChipMaster



Series: Gentron Week [5]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Cuddling, Gen, Gentron Week, Platonic Cuddling, Shiro (Voltron) Has PTSD - Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, broganes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-08
Updated: 2019-08-08
Packaged: 2020-08-13 07:09:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 992
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20170216
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChocolateChipMaster/pseuds/ChocolateChipMaster
Summary: Shiro doesn't always have to deal with his nightmares alone.





	Always

**Author's Note:**

> For the 'cuddling' prompt for day 5 of Gentron Week! 
> 
> Enjoy!

From the moment Shiro opened his eyes, he knew he was dreaming. 

He had this dream a lot. It always started the same way, with his own heart pounding in his ears, on an unfamiliar ship, with the walls colored purple and sirens ringing in his ears. He was running from an invisible person chasing him down the hallway, every instinct screaming at him to  _ run, run  _ because there wasn’t enough  _ time  _ and the sentries would be coming back to their posts soon and he’d lose his window of opportunity-

_ Run, Shiro. Run.  _

He turned around, every muscle aching with exhaustion and pain, see glittering yellow eyes leering down the hallway, getting closer and closer and then-

Shiro woke up.

Just barely managing to swallow the scream that rose in his throat, Shiro shot straight up, glancing around him. 

The lounge, he realized a moment later. He was in the lounge. He must have fallen asleep in the middle of a movie again. He glanced around at his teammates, the enormous projector having fallen into sleep mode from lack of use. Everyone else was fast asleep, sprawled on the couches and all over the floor wrapped in blankets. 

Shiro exhaled slowly. 

He wasn’t there. 

He was safe. 

_ Thank God,  _ he thought, pressing his prosthetic to his sweaty forehead. His blanket was tangled around his legs and he stared at it, trying to even out his breathing. He’d had that nightmare more time then he could count, but it always terrified him. Something about the terror of being chased - of being  _ caught  _ \- always stuck with him, even after he woke up. He had to turn around several times just to make sure those yellow eyes weren’t leering at him from across the lounge. 

Shiro reached down for the blanket wrestled around his legs and tugged on it, intending to free himself. It took several minutes, but he did manage to pull the blanket off, and he tossed it to the foot of his makeshift bed on the floor. The lump lying on the floor next to him stirred at the noise. 

“’hiro?” Keith said, his voice thick with sleep. Shiro silently cursed at how much of a light sleeper Keith was sometimes. “Somethin’-” he was cut off by an enormous yawn, “-somethin’ wrong?”

“No,” Shiro said, his voice hushed. His mouth burned with the lie, but it was too late to make Keith worry. “No, everything’s fine. Go back to sleep, Keith.” He reached out to brush away some of the hair that had fallen in his little brother’s eyes. 

Instead of shutting his eyes and falling right back to sleep, Keith sat up, rubbing the back of his head and making his hair stick up in odd directions. He yawned again and scratched his nose, looking blearily at Shiro. 

“Wha’ happened?” he murmured and Shiro stared down to pull at his prosthetic thumb gently. He should have known he couldn’t get anything past Keith. 

“Just a nightmare,” he murmured. 

“Again?” Keith was suddenly far more awake. He rubbed both of his eyes and scooted a little closer. 

“Yeah,” Shiro turned his face away, hoping Keith couldn’t see how pale and clammy his skin was. 

“Same one?” 

Shiro hesitated one more time before nodding again. “Yeah.” 

Keith scooted in a little closer, shifting his blanket nest so it could be a little closer to Shiro’s. He didn’t say it, but Shiro was infinitely grateful for the presence of someone else after the nightmare. He glanced behind him another time, just to be sure he wasn’t being watched. 

“You’re safe here,” Keith reminded him, hesitating for a split second before reaching out and resting his hand on Shiro’s knee. Above them, Pidge stirred in her blanket nest on the couch. Both Keith and Shiro glanced up at her to make sure she hadn’t woken, but she gave no sign of it. 

For several minutes, it was quiet. Or, as quiet as it could get with Coran and Lance’s snoring filling up the whole room. Shiro used it to ground himself, chase off the last of the lingering fear his nightmare had so graciously left him. Keith kept his hand on his knee in a silent show of support - a touch grounding enough to keep Shiro from slipping too far away. 

“You okay?” Keith murmured after a moment. 

“Yeah,” Shiro said and he meant it this time. “Yeah, I’m...feeling better. Thank you, Keith.” 

Keith only hummed in response, pulling his hand away. He turned back to collapse back onto his pillow and paused. He shot Shiro a concerned sideways glance. “Do...you need anything else?” 

Shiro paused, biting the inside of his cheek. As weak as it made him feel, he knew the moment he laid down and shut his eyes, the yellow eyes down the hallway in his dreams would haunt him. So for once, he pushed aside his pride and reached out to grip Keith’s hand. 

“Do you mind...just staying? Right here? Just...just so you’re close by.” 

Keith’s expression softened. “Yeah. Yeah, of course. Do you want…?” He trailed off and instead of finishing, merely opened his arms for a hug. Shiro shuffled forward and pulled Keith into him, dropping his chin in the crook of Keith’s neck. He felt his little brother’s arms circle him in return and squeeze softly in a show of silent support. 

Shiro wasn’t sure when the two of them fell back into their blankets or pillows, but it ended up happening anyway. Shiro could feel his eyelids flutter as Keith began to relax beside him. Shiro opened his mouth, knowing he had to say  _ something  _ before he drifted off and the moment passed. 

“Hey, Keith?” he murmured. 

“Mm?” 

“Thanks for...always bein’ there,” Shiro murmured. 

Keith nodded into Shiro’s collar. “Mhm. ’Course.” 

Shiro shut his eyes and allowed himself to drift off, safe and loved with his brother. 

The nightmare didn’t return that night. 


End file.
